


Glimpses

by lunaseemoony



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Romance, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 05:59:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4379927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaseemoony/pseuds/lunaseemoony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“He identified it as hope first. She was the first sunny day after a blistering and agonizingly long winter alone. Her smile bloomed, and like a bee he flocked to her, buzzing around her radiance just to get a taste of what being alive felt like again.”</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “He identified it as hope first. She was the first sunny day after a blistering and agonizingly long winter alone. Her smile bloomed, and like a bee he flocked to her, buzzing around her radiance just to get a taste of what being alive felt like again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part of this two-part ficlet is for avengersscramble

He identified it as hope first. She was the first sunny day after a blistering and agonizingly long winter alone. Her smile bloomed, and like a bee he flocked to her, buzzing around her radiance just to get a taste of what being alive felt like again. She tucked her tongue between her teeth and hugged him, promising him in the very least that he wasn’t alone. She was all he needed to end his long winter. 

  
He watched in awe as she crushed her fears under all of her courage. She was a beautiful girl that lit up a room, and her dress was stunning. But the way that she wore her bravery on her trembling chest to combat how frightened she felt wouldn’t just light up a room. She could start a bonfire with just her smile. Of course he wanted go with her together. He wanted to go anywhere and everywhere together with her. She grabbed his hand, and her pulse beat hope right into his smile. He knew that when her breath hitched as he told her how glad he was to have met her that it was just for him. He didn’t care that it brought forth the silliest grin to his face, because she returned it with her bright smile that could have melted the sun. 

  
She in no uncertain terms told him that she trusted him. She had no reason to. Maybe she wouldn’t if he’d told her the entire story of how he lost his people. If she knew, would she still hold his hand and stay with him? Before he could have just run with her, run to the ends of the universe without a care in the world. He spoke to her mother about safety, but what was really dragging him back to his dark winter was having to make that decision for his people again. It didn’t matter that at that moment his people consisted of one person. There was one person at that moment that he needed to be safe. And she would be the one person reminding him that there were billions more that she counted as her own. She was making that choice for him and herself based solely on her trust in him. And it was the one reason why he hated to do it. 

  
He caught a small glimpse in that moment, a little realization that the warmth he felt in his chest, and the ache that stung him at the thought of losing her wasn’t hope. It wasn’t hope that had become his lifeblood. It was her. He needed her, not just any human that would run with him. She was the one that eased the burden off his shoulders, the one that saved him from himself, the one that kept him from suffering alone, the one smiled for him even when there was so little hope, the one that held his hand and placed all of her trust in him.

  
He needed her safe, this girl that brought forth feelings he’d so carefully buried away to keep himself from hurting. When he breathed in all of her determination and gazed upon her deep level of trust he didn’t feel hurt. The intense cocktail of exhilaration, peace, and warmth surging through his veins rocked him to his very core. Perhaps he wasn’t ready to accept it just yet because of just how astronomical the odds were, but later he would look back on that moment and realize the simple truth: the Doctor was in love with Rose Tyler.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Boom Town, Rose comes to realizes that while one relationship has come to an end, another has already blossomed without her even knowing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part of this two-part ficlet is for atimelordswife's prompt.

 

She never put a label on her relationships; they created expectations. Mickey, the boy that she used to love, taught her that putting labels on relationships was pointless. The Doctor, the man she’d come to know showed her that there were much better uses of her time. He may as well have given her wings, that’s what it felt like. The whole universe was beneath her wings and within her grasp. Of course she was going to fly. As long as she landed every now and again, she hadn’t seen the harm in it. She never expected to be accused of flying too far. As far as Mickey was concerned, she didn’t need to come back. Lucky she had her mother, otherwise Rose wouldn’t have a reason to return home.

“So the plan is to destroy my pillows in a temper tantrum, is that it?” the Doctor asserted after inviting himself into her bedroom.

Rose threw one at him, which he dodged with a subtle lean to the left. “My room, my pillows.”

“Ah,” he shook his head once and took a few steps forward. “My TARDIS, my pillows. Just tell me how productive that is for you, at least.”

Rose didn’t answer, opting to rip one open and expose its innards. The room looked like a pink chicken coop without the chickens. And she was perfectly okay with it, because it was a reminder that she wasn’t the only one that could be hurt. Not that the poor pillows deserved it, but they at least suffered along with her.

“Is this about Rickey?”

“He just… he…” Rose made talons of her fingers and huffed a few breaths to try and collect herself, but she was long gone. “It’s over, and I feel so  _stupid_!”

The Doctor stood with his feet planted on the spot while Rose shoved the remnants of a pillow into the mattress with a huff. And then she shoved it again, and again, and again, until she’d given it her all and her lungs were aching for relief. Rose crashed onto the bed and burst into tears. The Doctor sat down next to her as she curled her legs into her bum. He brushed her hair away from her face.

“Go… go on.. then. Say it!” Rose barked at him between sniffs. She’d roll over so he couldn’t see her face turning into a bright red monster, but he’d already watched her make a fool of herself.

“What?”

“Stupid apes… and our bloody  _stupid_  relation…ships! You know you want to! Say it!”

He shrugged his leather jacket onto a bed post and kicked his shoes to the now white and gray feather floor. “Come here,” he muttered while leaning up against her headboard. “No talking to you when you’re blubbering like this.”

Rose squeaked as she sat up and closed the gap between them, limiting the chances he’d see her stinging eyes and spongy cheeks. In the end it didn’t matter because the first place his hand reached for was her face. He lifted it up as she hiccuped and wiped her tears away with his thumb. His little hushes only made them leak faster, so he gave her a defeated smile and brought her head to his chest, where she released all of her remaining grief and frustrations. Within a couple minutes she felt his fingers moving through her braids to undo them. Once he’d done this, he moved to rubbing soothing circles on her back.

“I offered him a spot, you know. Turned me down,” the Doctor whispered into her hair, tickling her scalp where his lips kissed it.

“When?”

“Back when we first ran into the Slitheen. He didn’t want you to know he didn’t have the stones for it.”

Rose shook her head and curled into him further, tucking her legs into his. The Doctor responded by wrapping his arms around her tighter while resting his head on hers. “Thanks, but it’s my fault, too. I just, he’s always been there, like home. I expected… I dunno. It sounds daft now.”

“You needed a touchstone, and now your touchstone has moved.”

“I suppose.”

She shivered when he puffed a sigh into her hair. “You’ve still got a place to go home to. They’ll still be there, Mickey, and your mother.”

The Doctor shifted as Rose looked up. The mere thought of going a day without being able to swim in the waters of his calm eyes had her blurting out, “I’m not leaving you Doctor.”

How had it taken this long for it to click? He was always doing this, giving her an out. She could still get away from him and the destruction he left in his wake, he was basically telling her. She’d told her mum she’d come back some day when really she knew there was a Doctor that needed her company. He needed her company, her rescuing, whether he’d ever admit to it or not. She deeply cared for him, and couldn’t imagine him ever being alone. There were times she’d seen his stormy blue eyes glisten with tears, but held them back. What would happen when he was all alone? She couldn’t bear the thought. But for the longest time, that was because she’d seen it as her responsibility.

None of it explained why she’d had intense dreams about him playing that alien harp, how she found herself swing dancing in her room on good mornings, or why she wore his key on her chest at all times. It didn’t explain why her hand in his meant she was safe no matter what (despite knowing better half the time), or why she loved that she could make him jealous. It didn’t explain why she adored him talking about her and singing her praises. It didn’t explain why her mind was wandering to less innocent places when they danced, or why she loved that he was much better at slow dancing than swing. It certainly didn’t explain why she found herself licking her lips and thinking about how dry his were.

“Well good! You’d be tough to replace. You should stick around for a while.”

There was such an easy explanation, and it swam into focus along with the Doctor’s wide grin. He hugged her tight before opening up his arms to release her while there weren’t any traces of tears left on her face. Rose remained still, however, so he let his hands return to their resting places. For all he knew, the elation that spread across her face was her appreciating his joke, and that her quivering breaths were leftovers from her tears. His smile softened, and that niggling desire to taste it returned, but she held back. If she was patient she’d get her chance soon, she reminded herself.

“Oh, I’d  _love_  to.”


End file.
